If viewers of "The Chinese Exclusion Act" documentary end up with a sense of deja vu between the film's subject, a law from 1882 that barred Chinese people from coming to the United States, and current events, that's pretty much the point, according to its filmmakers. The Chinese Exclusion Act was America's first and only immigration act that barred people from a specific country from coming to the United States. "This is the DNA of American immigration policy," Burns said. When the exclusion act was passed, it prohibited most Chinese workers from coming, and preventing Chinese already here from ever becoming naturalized citizens. "The Chinese who came here and Chinese Americans saw more clearly what's best about our system and helped secure it," Burns said.

Source: ABC News May 27, 2018 14:05 UTC